The Problem With The Modern College System

Getting into college is built up to be the ultimate goal for many high school students. College provides some students a place away from home to grow up and build their own work ethic. The average college graduate makes more money over the course of their career than a person who enters the workforce straight out of high school (according to the Los Angeles Times);that being said the benefits of college are undeniable. There are however several glaring issues with the college system that makes college feel like more of a rip off than a push forward in my opinion.

The cost of college is one of the principal culprits. Many colleges costs far too much. That’s all there is too it. The average student is asked to go thousands of dollars into debt for an education where in many cases they are just another face in a class of 50 or more. The kind of rates colleges charge would be more comparable to private one on one lessons rather than a large class setting where information is just thrown in your direction.The Colleges ask for government funding and large amounts paid in tuition as if they don’t have enough money, yet they spend millions of dollars paying a single coach’s salary and sink millions more into keeping up sports facilities. If colleges would spend money more frugally, the burden put on the student would be much less.

The second big problem with the college system is forced over-generalization facilitated by the greedy preying on the dependent. What I mean by this is that colleges take your money by forcing you to go to general education classes that do not benefit your education major. In many cases a degree is needed to obtain a job or certification is a certain field. Colleges know this and instead of giving you the courses that are essential, they choose to corner you into taking general education courses; like algebra or biology, that waste time and money. Envision this, you pay a cab driver to get you from point A to point B. Instead of taking you on the quickest route there, the cab driver takes you on the scenic route and makes a stop at point C and D as well. When you get to your destination he then demands you pay for the entire ride! That is pretty much what colleges are doing to students. The difference is that you can choose another way to get a ride to your destination, students can’t.

Higher education is a good thing, but it needs a serious reform. Students should get what they pay for when they pay for it. They should be put first and treated as the paying customers that they are. Finally, and most importantly, students should not have to be ripped off by an industry that has a monopoly on the success of their future.